With Australia's signing of the Kyoto Protocol in the past week " and news flowing in from the climate change conference in Bali " this issue is heating up conversations around Australia and in the Sydney Diocese. In recent weeks, the Sydney Diocesan Secretariat has met with the co-founder of the Conservation Foundation as the Diocese continues to take decisive action to shrink its carbon footprint. Sydney parishes are readily taking up the cause, using environment-related activities to connect with their local communities.
In late November, members of the Sydney Diocesan Secretariat and the Social Issues Executive met with co-founder and director of the Conservation Foundation, David Shreeve and the Church of England's national policy advisor on environmental issues, Claire Foster.
Since 2005, the Conservation Foundation has worked with the Church of England to run partially government-funded educational workshops around England, addressing the link between Christian faith and care for the environment.
The Church of England conducted a "Measuring our Footprint' campaign in 2006 and 2008 to measure energy use by churches and organisations. Steps are now being taken to shrink the impact of Church of England property on the environment through energy and water consumption, and waste production.
With a view to forming a Diocesan response to climate change through guidelines, policies and the like, Sydney representatives asked questions about the initiatives taken by the UK church, strategies for reducing waste and energy consumption on church property, educating clergy and congregations, and connecting with the environmentally-conscious in their local communities.
Recent resolutions from Sydney Synod and the General Synod of Australia acknowledging that climate change is occurring and endorsing the need to respond to the problems and opportunities brought about by the phenomenon have strengthened to the momentum.
Already, some Sydney Anglican organisations are taking small but solid steps to take their carbon footprint down a size.
Putting policy into practice
The Sydney Diocesan Secretariat (SDS), based at St Andrew's House, has already taken some steps towards reducing its carbon footprint, and corporate services manager, Andrew Tilsley and technology manager George Lymbers are exploring further ways for the organisation to cut consumption and waste.
"Certainly Synod has been a key trigger for us, but we have been conscious of certain activities well before Synod," Mr Tilsley says.
"For example, when constructing our new IT server room, we engaged with relevant consultants to ensure power and carbon emissions were kept as low as possible.
"Also, with the St Andrew's House refurbishment, we have deployed a number of low-energy-rating devices such as office lights that turn on and off when people enter and leave a room."
Mr Tilsley and Mr Lymbers are also working on reducing paper wastage, with measures including double-sided printing, recycled paper, and secure websites for agendas and minutes.
"The work of SDS necessitates a huge amount of printed material. From Synod to Standing Committee to the myriad of boards and committees, the paper flow is enormous," he says.
"Having low-cost, efficient printers in place is essential. We are also looking at the opportunity of providing a central print bureau for parishes and diocesan organisations"
SDS has also established a relationship with Decarbon " an organisation supporting initiatives such as renewable energy and Australian reforestation projects - and has enlisted an environmental engineering student from Australian National University to analyse the practices and processes of the organisation.
Mr Tilsley points to the development of secure websites for agendas and minutes as part of SDS's climate change strategy, along with considerations for the use of lower powered PCs and auto-shutdown.
All of these measures are being taken with a view to having a policy framework in the new year, with reports on the process of implementation to follow.
A discussion paper on climate change is also being prepared for the Board of the
Anglican Church Property Trust Diocese of Sydney to explore possible implications for church trust property in the Diocese.
Reaching out in a changing climate
Recent research suggests that green projects may provide a bridge with
certain sections of the community that local churches often find very hard to
reach.
The study ‘The Spirit of Gen Y’ found that 17 per cent of Australians aged
12 to 24 have an ‘alternative spirituality’: the third-largest belief
system after Christians and secularists.
Researchers found that environmental concerns were a central factor in the
beliefs of these young Australians, suggesting a way forward for local
churches who wish to connect with this group.
Some parishes in the Diocese are looking at ways to reach those with environmental concerns in their local communities with environment-related outreach activities such as bushwalks, or Bible studies in the outdoors.
St Mark's, South Hurstville's Ecochurch project, launched on Palm Sunday this year, has incorporated the community and the parish in setting up a recycling centre for print cartridges, magazines, candle wax and the like, raising funds for a watertank for St Mark's kindergarten, and releasing monthly education flyers.
Earlier this year, All Souls Leichhardt tried out a few activities including a six-week sermon series looking at a biblical approach to ecology.
However rector, the Rev Dr Tim Foster says the most successful idea was a community workshop on building a "Square Foot' garden.
"This is an organic, highly water-efficient approach to vegetable gardening ideal for people with small gardens," says Dr Foster, who ran the workshop.
"It's a practical answer to people's "global warming' concerns, particularly the transportation of vegetables over long distances," he says.
"The workshop also provided a platform to introduce a Christian perspective on environmental concerns."
The workshop, which was held for 20 people, booked out quickly, prompting the parish to plan another workshop to be held next year.
"The vast majority of the participants were non-churched people; only two spots were taken by All Souls members," says Dr Foster.
Solution lies in small steps
The Rev Dr Andrew Cameron, chair of the Sydney Diocese's Social Issues Executive points to a number of reasons why Sydney Anglicans could feel overwhelmed by such a huge problem.
"The climate change debate is now at an interesting point. Most people agree that it is happening. But it remains difficult for people to imagine that their actions can make a difference," he says.
Dr Cameron says the reasons behind this can range from a helpless feeling that our "puny" efforts cannot even make a dent in the problem through to an apathy that grows when people see others doing nothing.
"These psychological barriers combine to mean that for many of us, it is simply too emotionally exhausting to think about changing our own life and the life of a church or workplace."
The answer, Dr Cameron asserts, lies in a return to the more traditional Christian value of contentment.
"We will simply enjoy becoming the kind of contented Christians who do not need to over-consume," he says.
"Habits of appropriate frugality were once a mark of contented Christian lives. A return to these habits will show the world that we are not mere consumers, but find our true identity thanking the one "who richly provides us with everything to enjoy' (1 Tim 6:17)."
Dr Cameron adds that the solution begins with small steps as ordinary individual Christians show their willingness to limit water and energy usage, and waste production.
"In a democracy, this "ripple effect' creates political will: governments are freed, or even forced, to take action when a consensus emerges in the populace," he says.
"For Sydney Anglican groups to put their mind to such changes is a way of saying, even if only symbolically at first, that our neighbourhood matters and that the natural environment is worth our care."
"We might even find that our group creates a "culture' that helps individuals rediscover thankfulness, contentment and appropriate frugality," he adds.
Making individual advances to reduce Australia's carbon footprint may be easier than first thought, with steps including using fluorescent lightbulbs and repairing leaking taps or washers. See factbox for more suggestions.
